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v E. WA -NE. GONUENTRATOR AND SEPARATOR FOR (IRES. No. 258,832. Patented May'23,'1882.

I/VITJVTESSES v 714,5 .IJV'V'EJV'TOR B A] Attorney v (2% L '7 I p U ITED STATES PATENT rates.

ELIJAH WARNE, EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE WARNE OONGENTBATOR AND SEPARATOR COMPANY.

CONCENTRATOR AND SEPARATOR- FOR ORES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 258,332, dated- May 23, 1882.

Application filed July 2, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: i

Be it known that I, ELIJAH WARNE, of Easton, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Concentrators and Separators for Ores andother Substances, ot'which the following is a specification.

My invention is directed to the production of machinery working by the wet process for concentrating and separating ores and other materials. In myimproved machinery I separate the material, first by weights and then by sizes. considered. The main feature of my improvement resides in the capacity which I obtain for varying adjustments of the parts, whereby I can with great accuracy and nicety separate the body of the material into sub-groups, each composed of grains of an ascertained and defi- 2o nite weight, the particles composing each subgroup being afterward divided or separated, according to size, by screening or other known and suitable means.

i In my machine the material to be acted. on is first carried by water through a sluice or sluices, in the bottom of which are pockets or openings at intervals andof any number desired. Each pocket or opening is intended to receive particles of a given weight, (irrespect- 0 ive of bulk,) and to adapt. said parts to receive only those particles or pieces which are of the same weight, I make them adjustable in size, so that ,theymay be opened or closed just to the point where they will receive such 5 particles only as are of the required weight. I also, with a view of facilitating this process of separation, provide adjustments whereby the supply of water to the sluice or sluices can be regulated, and also whereby portions of the 0 bottom of the latter can be tilted or inclined more or less in order to regulate or modify the flow of the current. v I in practice employ two sluices, one at each end of an inclined mixing-trough. The one at 5 thehigherend of thetrough receives theheavier rPOIlilOH of the materiahwhich settles to the bottom and is conveyed to the sluice by feedscrew or other suitable carrier. The one at the lower end of the trough receives the overflow This lam aware is not new, broadly of water from the trough, together with the lighter portion of the material which is held in suspension therein. I thus effect a preliminary separation of the material into two masses, which are then acted on separately in their respective sluices and are afterward screened.

The nature of my improvements and the manner in which the same are or may be carried into effect can, however, best be explained and understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan of a machine embodying said improvements. elevation of the same, representing one of the sluices in section on the line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional end elevation, the line of section being on theline 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a section on line 4 4, Fig. 1. p

The machinery is arranged in an d supported by a suitable framing, as shown, of any desirable height. Water is supplied to the various parts of the apparatus which require it from a suitable source, which in this instance is a tank, A, located above the parts, so as to supply water under head or pressure. I

Bis arotatingpower-driven wire screen,into which the granulated ore or other material is fed from a hopper, B. The pieces orparticles which are not toolargepass through the meshes of the screen into the spout B fromwhich they drop into the mixing and separating trough G. Thelarger pieces dischargefrom the end of the screen into the spoutB and are dis-' charged outside of the apparatus,wheuce they may be returned to the mill or crusher to be reduced to pieces of the proper size.

The trough G is inclined, as shown in Fig. 3, and through the valve or cook controlled pipe A, leading from tank A, is supplied with water to the level of the vertically-adjustable gate 0, which is arranged in the overflowopening at its lower end. The upper part of the trough G will thus have no water in it.

Extending longitudinally of the trough, and supported in proper end bearingstherein, is the slowly-rotatin g power-driven shaft 0, provided with a series of blades or paddles, 0 arranged spirally around the shaft fromend Fig. 2 is a sectional side 2 i mm to end and intended to convey gradually the heavier portion of the material (which settles to the bottom) to the upper end of the trough, whence it is discharged through a spout or chute, O, to the sluice D at that end.

, leading from the tank A. The nozzle of this pipe is so placed that the water discharged therefrom is directed against the ore as it fall-s from the-trough into the sluice, the effect'being that the ore and water mixed will pass downthe sluice. The extent to which the cook or pipe A is open determines the quantity of water in the sluice, and also, to some extent, theforce of current. The latter, however, is also controlled by the downward slope or inclination of the bottom of the sluice; and with t a view to obtaining a variable inclination I make the bottom so that it may at the upper end be raised or lowered by means o'fadjusting-screws a, as shown in Fig. 2, or by other suitable means.

The ore or other material carried along by and mixed with the water tends to settle to the bottom sooner or later, according to its weight. Taking advantage of this fact, it has been essayed before my invention to form openings or pockets in the bottom of-a sluice at different points for the reception of particles of different weights. This plan possesses advantages, but as carried out hitherto has not been effective to produce well-defined separation and division of the mass into subgroups each composed of particles of given weight.

I, in pursuance of the same general plan, form openings or pockets D at intervals in the bottom of the sluice; but these openings I form so that they may be made wider or narrower,as desired, so as to make them adjustable in size in the direction of the length of the sluice. Any suitable known means for this purpose may be employed. The means shown by me in this instance consist of sliding doors or covers D which are adapted to move lengthwise of the sluice in proper grooves in the bottom thereof, so as to uncover more or less of the openings or pockets D, asthe circumstances of the case may require. I adjust in this way the size of the openings so as to catch in each opening particles of alike-weigh t, which may readily be determined by testing the catch. If, for instance, it is desired to take in the first opening or pocket particles of one grain and upward in weight, and the test shows that particles of less weight are also contained in that pocket, then the pocket is open too wide, and it is gradually closed by means of the slide until the lighter particles are excluded. Thus by adjusting each opening or pocket the mass of material passing through the sluice can by gravity be subdivided with great nicety into sub-groups of dili'erent weights, and this operation can be furthered and assisted by the adjustment of the water-flow and of the bottom of the sluice.

I have found it of advantage in some cases to make the part of the sluice-bottom beyond each opening after the first adjustable, so that it may be more or less upwardly inclined, as shown at a, Fig. 2., with a view of damming slightly, and so checking the flow of the water at that point, with the effect of giving the material more opportunity tosettle in the opening.

I can also introduce water from the tank, not only at the head of the sluice but at selected points throughout the length of the sluice. In this way I may regulate the force of the current at or over each openin-g'independen'tly of the others.

But two openings or pockets, D,'are shown in the drawings. I propose, however, to use as 'many of such pockets as required, this depending upon the extent to which the process of subdivision by gravity is carried.

'Eachopening D leads into a receptacle, E,

(only one of which is shown,) which is filled with water to the level of the bottom of the sluice at that point, and is provided with a power-driven feed worm or screw, E.

I am aware that, broadlyconsidered,itis not new to combine with a sluice one or more water-boxes placed below and communicating with the sluice, and provided with conveyers for carrying off the solid matter which may drop through the sluice into the box. My improvement in this regard consists in the combination of such a device or devices containing non-flowing or still water with a sluice which is provided with openings adjustable in size in the manner hereinbefore' indicated, and is supplied with water from one or more pipes or ducts which discharge the water directly into the sluice.

The particles which fall through the opening D settle to the bottom of the receptacle E, and by the feed-worm E are carried up to the top of said receptacle and discharge into a chute, E which conveys the mass to the rotating compound screen F, which, receiving this mass composed of particles of various sizes but of like weight, separates them into Each screen leads into a distinct and separate compartment, which receives the material held by that screen. The innermost screen dis charges from its lower end outside of the apparatus those particles which are too large to pass through it. The sluice-water, after passing the last opening and being exhaustedpretty thoroughly of solid matter, discharges from the end of the sluice into a receptacle, G, in which the solid matter will settle, the water overflowing therefrom through a duct, G, into a tank, H, from whence it may be pumped back into the main tank, if desired. Of course if the apparatus be used in a locality where water-supply isabundant, there need be no provision for the return of the water.

On the opposite side of the machine, and at the lower end of the trough. This water conpension.

tains such material as is held to a certain extent in suspension, and which, by properly regulating the flow of the current through the sluice, can in great measure be separated from .the running water and deposited in the receptacles beneath the openings. Into each one of these feed-receptacles it is advisable to lead a pipe, I), from tank A, and from each one a pipe, 0,into a receiver, 1. The object of this is to constantly but gradually renew the water in the receptacle, so as to carry over into the receiver such material as is still held in su s- This material will in the receiwtir gradually settle, and the clear water can return through pipe (1 to tank H, and thence be returned to the main tank A. I thus work at one and the same time two classes or kinds of materials which require different treatment and cannot efficiently and successfully be thoroughly separated and concentrated by passing together through the same sluice.

In order to keep the separating-screens clear, I arrange over them perforated piping e, supplied with water from the tank A, and acting to spray water upon the screens, thus preventing the latter from becoming clogged.

The machine herein described is adapted to work any kind of ore, the adjustments with which it is provided rendering it capable of being set for any particular kind of ore or other material which itis desired to operate on.

What I claim as my invention is as follows:

1. In machinery for concentrating and separating ores and other materials by the wet process, an inclined sluice provided at intervals in its bottom with openings or pocketsadjust-able in size in the direction of the length of the sluice and from their lower or downstream edges, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. A sluice provided with openings or pockets, and having a bottom provided with sections adjustable, so that they may be tilted or inclined in order to regulate or modify the current of water passing through the sluice over said openings.

3. The combination of a sluice provided with openings or pockets adj ustablein size, and with bottom sections adapted to be variably tilted or inclined, in combination with one or more spouts or nozzles for supplying water under head or pressure to the sluice, and means for regulating the water-supply, substantially as hereinhefore set forth.

4. The inclined sluice provided with bottom openings or pockets adjustable in size, substantially as set forth, and one or more pipes or ducts for supplying water directly to said sluice, in combination with the receptacles containing still or non-flowing water, and communicating with said openings or pockets, and conveyers in said receptacles arranged and operating to raise and carry ofi? from the receptacles the material deposited therein through the openings or pockets, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

5. Theinclined mixingand separatingtrough andconveyer arranged in the san1e,in combination with the sluice provided with bottom openin gs or pockets adjustablein size and arranged at the upper or higher end of said trough to receive from the same the heavier material which settles to the bottom of the trough, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. The inclined mixing trough and conveyer contained in the same, in combination with the two sluices D X, and their adjuncts, and means for furnishin g independent water-supply to the said trough and sluices, these parts being arranged for joint operation, substantiallyas set forth. 7. Theinclined mixingand separating trough provided at its lower end with a vertically movable and adjustable gate, in combination with the conveyer contained in said trough, and the two sluices D X, substantially as herebefore set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 28th day of June, A. D. 1881.

ELIJAH ,WARNE. 

